BIOS

BREAKING

Yemen: The world's 'worst humanitarian crisis' in numbers

In this April 13, 2017, file photo, Yemenis present documents in order to receive food rations provided by a local charity, in Sanaa, Yemen. (AP / Hani Mohammed, File)

The Associated Press
Published Monday, January 22, 2018 10:02AM EST

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Yemen was already the poorest country in the Arab world before a Saudi-led coalition went to war with Iran-allied rebels in March 2015 in a failed bid to drive them from the capital and much of the country's north.

Since then the conflict has ground into a bloody stalemate, with more than 10,000 people killed and more than 2 million displaced.

The Saudi-led coalition has come under mounting international criticism for civilian casualties caused by airstrikes, the destruction of basic infrastructure and its blockade of key Yemeni ports, which are a lifeline for vital imports.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia announced $1.5 billion in new humanitarian aid for Yemen and vowed to expand the capacity of Yemen's ports to receive fuel, food and medicine, as well as establish "safe passage corridors" to ensure transportation of aid to non-governmental organizations inside Yemen.

The amount pledged represents about half that demanded by the UN in its latest humanitarian appeal. The conflict has fueled what UN agencies say is the "worst humanitarian crisis in the world."

Here's a look at the war's staggering toll in numbers:

More than 10,000 people killed, 50,000 wounded, and 2 million displaced due to the war, according to the UN

More than 50,000 children are believed to have died in Yemen in 2017, according to Save the Children

More than 22 million people, including 11 million children, are in need of humanitarian assistance, according to UN officials and the International Committee of the Red Cross

More than 8 million people are totally dependent on food assistance and considered a "step away from famine", according to the UN

An estimated 17.8 million Yemenis are considered "food insecure," meaning they do not know where their next meal will come from, according to the UN

More than 400,000 children are suffering from acute malnutrition, according to the World Food Program

Some 15.7 million Yemenis lack access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation services, according to the ICRC

Some 16.4 million Yemenis lack access to adequate health care, according to the UN

Another 24.3 million lack access to public electricity, according to the ICRC

Yemen, a country of 27 million people, imports about 90 per cent of its staple food and nearly all of its fuel and medicine, according to the UN

Since the start of the war, Human Rights Watch has documented 87 apparently unlawful attacks by the Saudi-led coalition, some of which may amount to war crimes, killing nearly 1,000 civilians and hitting homes, markets, hospitals, schools, and mosques

The price of petrol, diesel and cooking gas increased in December by more than 200 per cent from its pre-war cost, according to the World Food Program

There were more than 1 million suspected cholera cases reported last year and more than 2,230 associated deaths, according to the World Health Organization

As of late December, there were 381 suspected diphtheria cases in Yemen and 38 associated deaths, nearly all of them children under 15, according to the World Health Organization